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Posture Series |
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Standing
| Seated
| Hip
Openers | Inversions |
Backbends
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Arm Balances
| Balancing
| Twists |Forward
Bends |
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Puppy Stretch
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Adho
Mukha Svanasana
Doward Facing Dog
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| Foundations of
Posture: |
- Begin in Puppy Stretch (see first
picture). Arms are stretched out in front and buttocks are
about 4 inches from heels - toes curled under. Note: We
use Puppy Stretch as gage to measure how far apart our hands and
feet should be.
- In Puppy Stretch, spread your
fingers wide and press your palms and fingers down into the
ground. While your palms are earthy, lift the underside of
your arms from your wrists to your armpits by engaging the muscles
of your arms. Lift your armpits away from the ground
as if some one had a feather and were tickling you. As your
armpits lift, your shoulder blades will hug in close to your spine
and your heart should melt down to the ground.
- Keeping all this wonderful action
you have established in your upper body, begin to straighten your
legs back without changing the position of your upper body.
Heart reaches to the tops of your thighs.
- Continue to keep the lift in the
arms (lifting away from the ground) as you melt the heart towards
your thighs and your tailbone reaches up to the sky. Note: A
common misalignment is to push the shoulders and head of the arm
bones to the ground. The armpits lift away from the ground
as you push into the index finger and thumb and the heart melts
towards the ground.
- Head backs up to be framed by your
arms.
- Your body should be making the top
part of a triangle, rising from a solid base as your hands and
feet press down into the ground and the rest of your body has a
lightness by the engaging and lifting of your muscles.
- The line from your wrists to your
tailbone and the line from your tailbone to your heels should be
completely straight without having your chest or lower back dip
below or rise above this imaginary line.
- Modification: If it is
difficult to hold this posture or you have tight hips, keep a 2-3
inch bend in the knees and work on lifting the tailbone to the sky
and lengthening the upper body. If you are an over flexible
person, it is important that you engage the muscular action of the
body to ensure you do not over arch your back but keep it in a
straight line. You can prevent this by keeping your kidneys full
of breath and keeping a slight tuck to your tailbone.
- To release: Bend the knees
and lower down into table posture.
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Yogafamily.com
is not liable for any injuries that may occur when trying these
poses. The posture series is meant as a guide to home
practice. It is not for beginners. Before
beginning any physical activity, yogafamily.com advises that you speak
with your doctor and take several classes with a certified instructor.
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